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CNN Live Today

Cuba Excels in Health Care, Education

Aired May 14, 2002 - 14:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Under Fidel Castro, Cuba has certainly had its fair share of troubles. However, there are some who do point to a certain few items in Cuba, things like world class programs for sports and literacy and health care. Kate Snow, also in Havana, with more now from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cuba's national softball team drills for hours in the heat, on and off the field. Nearby, the national 17 and under soccer players, they've been recruited from all over the country. Beginning back in grade school, students with skill are singled out and sent to special schools.

Like many here, Leonel Duarte is far from home. He says he misses his family a lot.

LEONEL DUARTE, 14 YEARS OLD (through translator): But the coaches here support us a lot. They're friends. They treat us like fathers.

SNOW: When they're not practicing, they're in the classroom. Do they like the sports or studying better? Both, they say.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's like a regular school, but with more opportunities in sports.

SNOW: According a United Nations study, Cuba's regular schools rank at the top in Latin America. Old mansions were converted to classrooms. Under pictures of gun-toting revolutionaries, children are taught Cuban history, along with computer skills, English and all the basics. For a developing nation, the literacy rate is exceptional, at 96 percent according to the U.N.

Another success Cubans point to: health care. Beginning in neighborhoods like this one, inside a house or an apartment building, you'll find a community family doctor. In this doctor's case, he serves 550 patients. Other doctors serve up to 800 people. But the bottom line is, every Cuban has a primary care physician.

Doctors get to know their patients and even make house calls. They emphasize prevention and follow-up. Again, according to the U.N., 96 percent of 1-year-olds are immunized. Life expectancy is just one year less than the States, at 76. Cuba may not have the nicest facilities or equipment. Medicine is sometimes in short supply. But everyone has access. And the concept of paying is completely foreign.

DR. MAITE RAMIREZ, FAMILY PHYSICIAN: Totally unpaid. We never say that isn't paid because it's something that we was born with this right.

SNOW: Though the country has a lot of problems, it's hard to deny they get results in certain areas. In the last three summer Olympics, Cuba, an island with only 11 million people, has finished near the top in the medal count.

Coach Rodriguez tells his team, you have to think big to get big results. Someday these players hope they'll win the World Cup. Kate Snow, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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